"Axeeeeeeeeel."

The redhead groaned, pushing his nose further into the morning paper. It seemed like everyone was getting excited over the Preakness lately. Even his parents were getting into it, starting a pool with their friends to see who would win.

"Axeeeeeeel."

Why was he awake at this hour?

Looking up from the article, Axel set the paper down on the table. He turned, not surprised to find Roxas standing in the kitchen, creeping closer.

"What do you want, Roxas?" He needed at least 20 minutes in the morning to himself, or else he was cranky and tired for most of the day. Taking in the blonde's appearance, Axel's eyes widened when he saw the boy's eyes slightly glazed, his mouth opening to reveal prominent, sharp teeth.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stepped closer, looking sheepish. "I know this is your time, but...I'm really hungry."

The redhead ran a hand through his hair, causing a few spikes that had been smoothed down in sleep to pop up again.

"Does it have to be now?" he whined, knowing already that he had no choice.

"I'm sorry," Roxas said guiltily, looking down at his bare feet on the cool tile. "I wish I didn't have to. I know how much you hate it."

Now it was Axel's turn to feel guilty. It wasn't all bad, after all, and Roxas did need to be fed. He hadn't fed the boy in days because he hadn't been home much. It didn't help that they were on totally different sleep schedules, with the blonde excited and awake when Axel wanted to just collapse in bed and never wake up again.

"It's alright. Are you in pain?"

"Not really, but my teeth have been tingling. They started throbbing an hour ago, but I didn't want to wake you."

At least if he was the only one Roxas could feed off of, the blonde respected his space and asked him nicely. He wasn't like some vampires who would bite you in your sleep, suck your blood all out, and then leave without so much as a "by your leave."

No, Roxas had manners. He genuinely cared about people, Axel most of all, and despite Axel's attempts to avoid him or send him away at first, the redhead had soon accepted his fate and completed the pact with the boy. He was even starting to like him too. Maybe even love him.

But Axel did NOT love having his blood sucked.

Usually he tried to force a smile, letting Roxas know that it was okay even if it really wasn't. But today, the smile came warmly and easily, and he beckoned the young vampire closer, tilting his head and looking away as the blonde sat down in his lap. Axel was more relaxed today, to his own surprise, but he refused to look. Blood made him woozy, and once or twice Roxas had gotten...messy while eating. He shuddered at the memory.

"Are you okay, Axel?"

He deemed it safe to look and met concerned blue eyes.

"Yeah. Just be quick, okay?"

The blonde nodded, and Axel looked away again as he felt cool breath on his neck. This would have been sexy if the act of drinking blood didn't damn near repulse him.

Thankfully, Roxas was quick, latching onto his skin in a sharp bite. The redhead bit back a yelp at the intrusion of fangs into his neck, but he held still, waiting for the pain to subside...

It did. Fairly quickly, as usual. Then Roxas removed his fangs and began to drink his blood.

Cheesy romance novels liked to play up sexy vampires; how attractive they were and how pleasurable being bitten could be. Axel didn't really see the latter working; at best, he felt a slight nice tingle, but most of the time he stopped feeling anything unless Roxas took too much. It wasn't really pleasant or unpleasant, but it was sure as hell better than first being bitten.

Not all vampires were attractive. Vexen was a good example of that, but Axel smiled as he mused the thought absently. Roxas was attractive; a little young, maybe, but that was partly a facade. Roxas had been around for a hundred years at least, but he still acted like such a kid sometimes. It was funny, endearing in a way. He was young as far as vampires went, apparently...

"Ow!" He yelped when Roxas accidentally bit him again. The blonde drew back with a gasp, looking at him worriedly.

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!" He hastened to apologize, but Axel's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"It's fine. I know it was an accident." He saw, thankfully, that Roxas's eyes were back to full blueness. That was a sign that his hunger was dissipating. "Do you, uh, need more?" Axel asked as he raised a hand to his neck, feeling a small trail of blood trickle underneath his palm.

"No, I should be fine." Roxas' eyes followed the trail of blood back up to Axel's hand, and he swallowed dryly, a nervous look overtaking his features. "But...can I help you clean up?"

With a sigh, Axel removed his hand. Roxas smiled sheepishly and bent forward, lapping at the wounds he had made and cleaning up the blood before it could stain his master's shirt. Somehow, even though he wasn't capable of it, being dead and all, Roxas seemed like he was blushing in Axel's opinion. He just had this look that was so sweet and bashful, and the redhead pictured the blush in his mind. If Roxas had just been another guy like him, a lively flush to his skin and a warm, smooth, even sweaty hand for him to hold...

The blonde finished and got off his lap, looking at the floor sadly. Axel winced, remembering conveniently too late that they shared a mental connection. This pact thing was more complicated than it seemed at first glance.

"Would it be easier to love me if I was alive?" the boy asked sadly. Even though he couldn't cry tears, Roxas was feeling pain. Axel could sense it, and he hated that he'd been the one to cause it.

He stood from his chair and wrapped Roxas in a gentle embrace.

"Roxas, I like you for who you are. You are the way you are and you are here, and that's all that matters to me."

"But you still don't love me," he said simply. Most vampires didn't make pacts with humans, preferring to pair up with their own kind and be free of restriction, but Roxas desperately wanted to love the man he had pledged himself to. He'd hoped that Axel would warm to him, but it didn't seem like it most times. "How can I get you to love me?"

Axel bit his lip for a moment. "Roxas, it takes time. We haven't known each other long, and I'm still adjusting to the whole 'vampire' thing. But I do care for you," he said honestly, squeezing the blonde tighter in his arms. "I don't regret our pact. I look forward to spend all the time we have now getting to know you."

The young vampire looked up at him, doubtfully at first, then hopefully.

"You mean it?"

Axel smiled and kissed his forehead, ignoring the almost too cool skin.

"From the bottom of my heart, Roxy."